There. I avoided revealing we have a searchable database, so even if word gets out, vampires won’t know just how good of records we keep.
Captain Reese rested her hands on her desk. “Where is his Family based?”
I shook my head. “He doesn’t have one.”
Sarge scowled, the wrinkles on his forehead multiplying. “He’s that old and he hasn’t sired a single vampire?”
“Correct,” I said. “The resource clearly stated he has no Family.”
“Could the source material be incorrect?” Captain Reese asked. “I’ve never heard of a vampire being that old and not having any offspring.”
I shook my head. “There is no chance we slayers would have missed such an important connection.”
Captain Reese nodded and started tapping her fingers on her desk.
Sarge relaxed out of his stance so he could rub his face, his scales shimmering in the florescent lights.
I waited for a few moments, then added. “His best known association was with Ambrose Dracos, another elder vampire who was turned around roughly the same time as Considine.”
Captain Reese frowned. “Does that mean this Ambrose is likely to show up?”
“No,” I said. “Ambrose died centuries ago. But his Family—the Dracos—has survived and become one of the most powerful vampire lines in existence.”
“Then his offspring are still around?” Sarge asked.
“Yes.” I hesitated, then added, “One of the Dracos offspring lives here in Magiford.”
Captain Reese lowered her hands to clutch her prosthetic leg. “What? Wait—it couldn’t be.”
I nodded. “Killian Drake is the youngest of the Dracos line.”
“Dracos, Drake, of course,” Captain Reese muttered.
“As Dracos is Latin for Dragon, all of the Dracos line have taken last names that are offshoots of the term,” I said.
“Could that be why Ruin is here?” Sarge asked. “To see Killian?”
I grimaced. “I’m not sure. While it’s recorded that Considine Maledictus is an associate and closely connected to the Dracos vampires, slayers haven’t sighted him in decades. We have no idea what he’s been up to for at least a hundred years.”
“That’s not reassuring,” Captain Reese sighed.
“Can we take this matter to Killian Drake?” Sarge asked. “Ruin, or Considine, has done enough that we could reasonably take it up the chain.”
Done enough? He micromanages downtown and he’s outrageously dangerous, but I didn’t even have a clue that he was as powerful as he is until I saw him fight the snake.
Sarge glanced at me, and there must have been confusion in my expression. “He’s attacked you,” he pointed out. “Multiple times. Since you fought together with the snake it seems he’s less hostile to you, but if he’s as old as you say it’s even more reason to report his actions. He’s drawing you into a game that very few vampires would be able to engage in. It means you are in more danger, not less.”
“But that’s just me,” I pointed out. “He hasn’t done any damage to the city. He’s put down other supernaturals who have made trouble.”
“Don’t make light of your situation, Blood.” Captain Reese leaned back in her chair, making it creak. “You are a member of the task force—we take your safety very seriously. Ruin—Considine, that is—threatens your safety.”
“Indeed,” Sarge said. “The question is, does Killian Drake know what he’s doing and simply doesn’t care?”
“Possibly,” Captain Reese said. “Or maybe he can’t do much given how much older and more powerful Considine is.”
Sarge scratched his jaw. “Then how about we publicly tell him?”
Captain Reese peered up at him. “I’m listening.”
“We could wait until a Regional Committee of Magic meeting and tell all of them.” Sarge gestured with his hand—he must have been upset because I saw the water in the glass sitting on Captain Reese’s desk ripple.
I watched the water until my brain caught up with what he was saying. Wait, the Regional Committee of Magic? The supernatural leaders of the Midwest, who rule over their species. You want to tattle to them that Considine is here?!
I opened my mouth to argue, but Sarge was quick to stop me.
“Blood, if you claim that the Committee doesn’t need to hear about this just because of you, I swear on my favorite sea that you will be adding three additional pages to your paper and those pages will be all about the worth of your life to the Cloisters.”